| Kristoff Vernard | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Publication information | |
| Publisher | Marvel Comics |
| First appearance | As Kristoff: Fantastic Four #247 (October 1982) As Doctor Doom: Fantastic Four #278 (May 1985) |
| Created by | John Byrne |
| In-story information | |
| Species | Human |
| Team affiliations | Fantastic Four |
| Notable aliases | Doctor Doom Kristoff Von Doom |
| Abilities |
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Kristoff Vernard (formerly known asKristoff von Doom andDr. Doom) is a fictional character appearing inAmerican comic books published byMarvel Comics. The adoptive son ofVictor von Doom, he has been involved mainly with theFantastic Four, as an enemy, ally, and even short-term member.
Kristoff first appeared inJohn Byrne's "back to the basics"Fantastic Four run in issue #247 in October 1982.[1] John Byrne revealed his original plans for Kristoff, stating "I intended Doom to return to Latvaria and absolutely FREAK OUT when he discovered what his robots had done to Kristoff. Basically -- he'd need a whole lot of new robots by the time he calmed down. And then he would devote a whole lot of time and energy to restoring Kristoff. (I had not decided if he would be successful. Part of my brain wanted him to realize he needed the help of the other smartest guy on the planet -- and there was no way he could ever go there!")[2]
Kristoff served as heir toDoctor Doom, occasional ruler ofLatveria, a probationary member of the Fantastic Four, and temporal adventurer alongsideNathaniel Richards.
The character next appears inFantastic Four #258-259 (September–October 1983) and first appears as the secondDoctor Doom inFantastic Four #278-279 (May–June 1985). After a few scattered appearances, Kristoff Vernard becomes a semi-regular cast member inFantastic Four #400 (May 1995). He reappeared inFF #2, ruling Latveria in Doom's absence.
Analternate future version appeared as an adult in theMC2 universe, beginning inA-Next #5 (1998), followed by scattered appearances, but was only featured regularly inFantastic Five #1-5 (September–November 2007).
Doctor Doom received an entry in theOfficial Handbook of the Marvel Universe Update '89 #2, and theAll-New Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe A-Z #12 (2007).
After being ousted as leader ofLatveria, Doctor Doom returns to the country with the Fantastic Four to overthrow its then-leader Zorba. Doom meets the young Kristoff and his mother. While conversing with them, Kristoff's mother is killed by one of Zorba's robots for violating curfew.[3] Furious at the death of a woman who was standing in his presence and therefore should have been regarded as being under his protection, Doom destroys the robot and defeated Zorba. Doctor Doom adopts Kristoff as his heir and takes him to live inCastle Doom.[4]
Following the apparent murder of Doctor Doom byTerrax, Doom's robots take Kristoff and implanted him with Doom's mental patterns and detailed memories. However, he stops the process before it can be completed. Now believing that he is Doom, Kristoff attempts to kill the Fantastic Four by destroying theBaxter Building.[5] The Fantastic Four survive the explosion due to being protected byInvisible Woman and manage to stop Kristoff. He is imprisoned inFour Freedoms Plaza, the new home of the Four.[6]
Kristoff is still convinced that he is Doom andMister Fantastic hopes to restore him to his normal personality. At this time, the real Doom returns. Kristoff escapes prison with the aid of aDoombot sent to kidnapFranklin Richards, son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman, who possesses immense psychic abilities.[7] Doom intends to use Franklin to bargain for the soul of his motherCynthia, who is being held captive byMephisto.[8] Doom admits his failure to save Cynthia, demonstrating a lack of confidence to the Doombots present. The Doombots turn on Doom, who is forced to flee. Kristoff takes control of Latveria until Doom infiltrates his castle and speaks a codeword that reverts Kristoff to his original personality.[7][9] Doom reclaims his throne while Kristoff is sent as a decoy to battle Mr. Fantastic and is killed in battle.[10]
Nathaniel Richards resurrects Kristoff along with Doom's former guardian Boris, who is actuallyZarrko in disguise.[11] Kristoff becomes a closely monitored member of the Fantastic Four and close friends withCassie Lang, who has joined the team following the "death" of Mister Fantastic. He eventually leaves the group and is reunited with Doom.[12]
Kristoff is the main antagonist in theSpider-Man/Fantastic Four miniseries, setting up an elaborate plan to depose Doom and take his place.[13] This culminates in him seeking the aid ofSpider-Man and the Fantastic Four to help in his final plan, regarding them as Doom's greatest enemies. Although Kristoff attacks them when they turn him down, claiming that they were willing to just 'forget' him after theOnslaught incident, Spider-Man and theThing discover an old family photo album which includes pictures of Kristoff's time with the team. Despite this, Kristoff rejects the team and departs in anger, swearing to destroy Doom himself.[14]
Kristoff Vernard hiresShe-Hulk as his lawyer to apply for political asylum in the United States, but she ends up facing a small army of Doombots. After defeating the Doombots, She-Hulk succeeds in granting him political asylum, only for Doctor Doom to break into the courthouse and kidnap him. She-Hulk then goes to Latveria to rescue Kristoff only for him and Doom to have a pep-talk, where he expresses his desire to follow his own path in life. After the talk, Doom allows Kristoff and She-Hulk to leave Latveria.[15]
Doctor Doom is later involved in a confrontation with Ionela Novothy, theSymkarian "ringleader" of a coup against Doom. When the war concludes and Symkaria is annexed into Latveria, Doom appoints Kristoff as the governor of southern Latveria.[16]
During the "One World Under Doom" storyline, Kristoff Vernard utilizes a modified Time Platform to summon the Superior Avengers, a team from another universe consisting ofAbomination, a femaleDoctor Octopus named Olivia, a femaleGhost, a femaleKillmonger,Malekith the Accursed, andOnslaught.[17] Kristoff is later phased into a private location by Ghost, who introduces herself as Ava Starr. Ghost states that the end of magic and the coup against Doom has led theAnnihilation Wave to end Earth and that they need to convince his time period's Doom to help them gather the magic enough to restore it in their own time.[18]
Kristoff Vernard has no superpowers, but he is a skilled scientist andmagician.[19]
He once worn a suit of armor that granted him some access to its functions.
An alternate universe version of Kristoff Vernard appears inFranklin Richards: Son of a Genius. This version is aforeign exchange student and a classmate of Franklin Richards.
An alternate universe version of Kristoff Vernard from Earth-58163 appears inHouse of M. This version is a member of Doctor Doom's Fearsome Four who is known as the Inhuman Torch and gained pyrokinetic abilities from Doom's experimentation.[20]
An alternate universe version of Kristoff Vernard from Earth-982 appears in theMC2 imprint. This version is a member of theFantastic Five who is known as Doom and sports a green version of the F5 uniform alongside his old mask.
Kristoff Vernard appears as an alternate costume for Doctor Doom inMarvel Ultimate Alliance.
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